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Chocolate Musings

Set your goals - make the plans - artfully create your life - live it beautifully. Grab the good chocolate and find your muse.

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Home » bullet journal collections

From Drab to Fab #2 Finishing off the Fancy Title – Part 2

May 20, 2018 3 Comments

Now What?

In the earlier drab-to-fab headers post, I showed you how to create a header for a page – I use my fancy headers like this on collection pages where I might spend a little more time creating the page because I will refer back to it time and time again. The header looked great ‘as is’ but outlining around the edges of the text is another fun way to enhance the look of the header. Now we will create a border for the header.

Read the original post – “Have 10 Minutes?” 10-Minute task list, clear your mind and the clutter.

Create a Border for the Header

You could call it good. And it would be good! I decided to go a bit further and outline the outline of the text – essentially creating a border for the header. I had all the swirls and flourishes in place – so I knew where the edges were.

Step 1: Outline

To create this outline, don’t worry about all the nooks and crannies of the text, just stay an equal distance away from the edges of the design or text.

Step 2: Blend in a Shadow

After I did that, I wanted some edges on the outline so I could color it in almost as a shadow – but with the same blended technique used on the number 10. I did this just to add more color because the blue blended so beautifully together. So I added more lines along the bottom and the right sides of the outline. Then I added more and more outlines for more depth. I’ll use these lines to know when to start the color blends.

The darkest blend will be the closest to the outline in this case since that is where the darkest part of the shadow is. But you will still start with the lightest color on the outside then blend darker and darker.

Create fancy titles - add even more emphasis by outlining and color blending behind the title, create a border for the header and make it stand out even more!

Finishing off the Page:

Sub-Headers & Mind-Maps & Task Items

Sort the 10-Minute Tasks into categories by location and create headers for the categories. For my collection, I laid this out mind-map style (start in the middle with the main item, then sub-items expand out, then add list items beyond the sub-headers). I like this method because no one sub-header has more importance than other headers so I don’t neglect the tasks listed at the bottom and only do the items at the top.

I am practicing a new all-caps font so it was a perfect opportunity to do some extra practicing. If you look closely, you can see that I needed to move a couple of tasks. Whiteout tape is a good source for quickly masking mistakes.

So there you go! Please let me know what you think and what you do to dress up your collection pages.

Dress up your Bullet Journal Collections with Fancy Titles - step-by-step instructions to create this one + Printable

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

Save this layout to Pinterest for later – while you are at it, follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration!

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3 Comments
Filed Under: #InMy10Minutes, Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Creative, Get Organized & Start Planning, Planner Header Ideas, Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: #BuJo, brush calligraphy, brush lettering, Bullet Journal, bullet journal collections, collections, how to make a pretty title, how to make a title, how to make pretty letters

Moving to a New Bullet Journal for March!

March 8, 2018 7 Comments

The well-loved golden-bound book has seen better days, and it is time to move into a new bullet journal. See this ruby beauty? I’m hoping it will last me more than a year for planning. And this lovely Azure book? It’s becoming my long-term collections journal. I’m moving to a new bullet journal. You read that right! I’m moving to not just one journal but separated into two for March!

Moving into TWO new bullet journals + Video set up

Why the Separation of the Journals?

I split my journals for two reasons – one I wanted a planner that lasted more than 6 months (I got almost 6 months from both the last journals (purple then yellow). But I didn’t want to move all my long-term collections to a new journal. Short-term collections I will keep in my red planning journal.

The Need for a Long-Term Collections Journal

About half-way through the last journal, I realized that I needed a long-term collections journal. There are lots of things I jot down that are not for the immediate short-term. Some things are years in advance. For instance, I created a ‘new home wishlist’ and a ‘repairs list’ for my current home. We are not purchasing in the next 6 months, and it will take longer than that short span of time to fix up our current house.

The split allows for longer-term goals and projects and does not get lost in the day-to-day planning minutia. I am very excited about this move and look forward to making beautiful, functional spreads for both my weeks and months and my collections.

New Journal in the Middle of the Year?!

I admit it would have been nice to start the new journal in January. But starting a new journal shouldn’t have to be done just at the beginning of the year. In fact, the more I thought about it, the bullet journal system is flexible so you can start in the middle of a year with no problems. If you need to go back and complete the previous month’s future logs, go ahead, there’s no reason why you can’t. In fact, I did that when I started my purple journal last April!

Moving to a New Bullet Journal - in the middle of a year

The New Journal Set-Up

Moving to a new bullet journal requires a little bit of what I call planning-the-planner. I write the titles of the page in pencil and plan the flow. Since it’s in pencil, I can adjust and move around some of the pages.

Future Log

I have two future logs in this new journal. Silly? Maybe. One is a very high-level overview, and the other one allows me more in-depth goal planning. I discovered something in my Leuchtturm1917 journal, and I am a little ashamed that I didn’t see it before. Keep reading, I’ll tell you.

Broad Overview Future Log

There are 52 columns on a spread in an A5 Leuchtturm1917 and 52 weeks in a year. I don’t know why I didn’t make this connection before, but I was interested in creating continuing year’s calendar with this information. Using my trusty Google Calendar which conveniently shows the weeks of the year, I created a full year’s continuous-flow calendar. To see the year’s broad overview in one peek.

FYI: The washi tape serves no purpose other than to cover up the marker from the opposite page where  I was too heavy-handed and used too many layers to blend colors.

Goal Planning – Future Log “Common Area”

The second future log has two months to a page and 4 sections. Writing the month’s name down the middle of the page and separating one big area into 3 smaller parts for appointments, random dates to note, and blog post plans. The largest, unseparated section I plan on using for goal setting & notes.

I call this my common area – thinking back to my high school days where we had a big ‘commons’ in the center of the school. Many hallways and offices split off from this large space, so it was a place of gathering and meeting up after various events or classes. Just like my common area is a place to meet back after one month and gather my thoughts for the next.

Future Log: 1 month to a page - large goal planning areas & space for lots of to-dos

March Plans

For the start of March, I wanted to see If I could use the March ‘common’ future-log as a calendar. So the welcome page is minimal with just a bit of text, a wreath, and a calendar. I’ve been practicing drawing circular wreaths, and this was an excellent opportunity to use one.

Tip: If you draw free-hand circles, try to use your whole arm (from the shoulder) to make the circular movement. I find that I make a much better shape that way than trying to draw from my wrist.

The First Week

The first week of March started on Thursday. Lately, I’ve been keeping the months together (beginning each month fresh – no matter when the month starts). I created a partial week spread and decided that the other half would be for my habit tracker for the month.

Watch the setup video below for the first month and week of my new bullet journal. As I was editing the video, I realized that part of the problem with me getting things out on the timelines I set, is that I promise WAY too much from the video. I don’t have all the things done, so I will update this post and the YouTube description as I complete my promised items. 🙂 Learning to scale my projects to meet my deadlines is definitely a work of art.

I hope this gives you some confidence to start a new journal no matter what month it is or where you are in your life. Do not wait for the perfect opportunity. Make it the perfect opportunity.

Question:

How do you feel about starting a new planner in the middle of a year?

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2018, Planner Spreads Tagged: #BuJo, Bullet Journal, bullet journal collections, bullet journal set-up, Circle, circles, collections, mid-year, mid-year migration, plan with me, planner, planning video, two bullet journals, two notebooks, video tutorial

About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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